St. Enoch Centre

Last updated

St. Enoch Centre
St. Enoch Centre entrance.jpg
St. Enoch Centre
Location Glasgow, Scotland
Opening dateMay 1989;34 years ago (1989-05)
Architect GMW Architects
No. of stores and services86
Total retail floor area 70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft)
No. of floors3
Public transit access St Enoch subway station
Argyle Street railway station

The St. Enoch Centre is a shopping mall located in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The centre is located adjacent to St Enoch Square. The Architects were the GMW Architects. The construction, undertaken by Sir Robert McAlpine, [1] began in 1986, and the building was opened to the public on 25 May 1989. [2] [3] It was officially opened by the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in February of the following year. [4]

Contents

Located on the site of the former St Enoch Station, the building is just off Glasgow's famous shopping thoroughfare, Argyle Street and overlooks the historic St. Enoch Square and the original subway station building. The present St Enoch subway station is accessible by escalators.

Whilst the target of many architectural critics, the building is notable for its massive glass roof, which makes it the largest glass-covered enclosed area in Europe. Not only does this substantially reduce heating and lighting loads – the mall area is lit entirely by natural daylight in summer, whilst the solar heat generated by the roof means that mechanical heating is only required for a week on average per year – it also earned the building its affectionate nickname "The Glasgow Greenhouse". [5] [6] The roof's steel framework was fabricated by the shipbuilders Scott Lithgow. [3]

The glass roofed element surrounds a seven-storey car park, and when originally opened, an ice rink. [3] This was closed in 1999 when a refurbishment programme (initiated to compete with the newer Buchanan Galleries complex), saw it being replaced by more shops and an enlarged restaurant area.

Shopping

Since its opening, St Enoch's anchor tenants were British Home Stores on the eastern end of the complex, and Boots on the western end adjacent to St Enoch square. [3] Although not part of the mall, there is a link bridge over Osbourne Street to the Debenhams department store on the north side of the building – this was originally the historic Lewis's store on Argyle Street which itself had undergone a major renovation prior to St Enoch's opening.

Refurbishment

2000–2001

The mall has undergone two major refurbishments. Between 2000 and 2001 the ice rink was closed, and converted into an extended food court, and the second floor above the food court area was converted into an entertainment stage. The Argyle Street exit was demolished and rebuilt with an extended mezzanine level housing a TK Maxx store (now closed), and additional shop units with new escalators to serve them. There were other minor updates - the balustrades and handrails were replaced, and the spiral staircase in the centre of the main mall was removed, whilst the hanging wall gardens on the car park exterior walls were replaced by projection screens.

2008–2016

In 2008, a £100 million refurbishment began that was expected to be complete by the end of 2009, but was eventually completed in mid-2010. [3] This refurbishment expanded the floor area to 120,000 m2 (1,300,000 sq ft) and it added a new entrance at the corner of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street, [7] [8] whilst the Argyle Street entrance built in 2000 was demolished for a second time to make way for a new facade, resulting in the closure of the TK Maxx store. In line with the extensions, the original 1980s floor tiling was replaced and the escalators at both ends of the main mall were moved to different locations and renewed.

Hamleys, [9] G-Star RAW, H&M, Schuh Kids and Starbucks are some of the few new retail units as part of the refurbishment. Initially, the shopping centre is aiming to tender to a more upmarket niche to compete well with the high street and rival mall Buchanan Galleries. The Tesco Metro store formerly on Argyle Street relocated to the lower ground level of the extension, whilst the TK Maxx store that was displaced from the mall relocated to the vacant Tesco site.

St Enoch's Square is also being redeveloped in order to encourage a better public communication. The units overlooking the square will be occupied by food outlets to encourage a new civic space for Glasgow on the square and encourage the public to be able to use the space easily.

In 2010, the Debenhams department store announced that they would be undergoing a renovation as part of the centre's development, including a premier restaurant. [10] This store has since closed.

2016 onwards

In 2016, it was confirmed that the former BHS store site would be redeveloped to introduce a multiscreen cinema, alongside new restaurants and retail stores. [11] [3] Work on the redevelopment began in April 2019, and was completed in 2022. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchanan Street</span> Street in Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MetroCentre (shopping centre)</span> Shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

MetroCentre is a shopping centre and entertainment complex in the Dunston area of Gateshead. It is located on the former site of Dunston Power Station, near to the River Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamleys</span> British multinational toy retailer

Hamleys of London Limited, trading as Hamleys, is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's West End in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It receives around five million visitors each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allders</span> British department store

Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southside Wandsworth</span> Shopping centre in London, England

Southside Wandsworth is a shopping centre in the district of Wandsworth in London, England. When it was built it was the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe and is currently the fifth largest indoor shopping centre in London after Westfield Stratford City, Westfield London, the Whitgift Centre and Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

In the Republic of Ireland, the retail sector provides one of the largest sources of employment in the economy, representing over 12% of the workforce. As of 2017, approximately 40,000 wholesale and retail businesses employed almost 280,000 people in Ireland, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reporting that 90% of these businesses were Irish-owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centrale (Croydon)</span> Shopping centre in Greater London, England

Centrale is a shopping centre in Croydon, South London, one of the largest covered retail developments in London. It is owned and managed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and was opened in 2004. Plans were announced in January 2013 to redevelop Centrale and combine it with the Whitgift Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toowong Village</span>

Toowong Village is a highrise building situated at the centre of the Brisbane suburb of Toowong, Queensland, Australia, on the block of land bounded by Coronation Drive, High Street and Sherwood Road. The blue glass office tower is a prominent landmark visible from Toowong and surrounding suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Street, Manchester</span> Retail street in Manchester, England

Market Street is one of the principal retail streets in Manchester, England. It runs from its junction with Piccadilly and Mosley Street, close to Piccadilly Gardens, in the east to where it meets St. Mary's Gate at the crossroads with Exchange Street and New Cathedral Street in the west. St Mary's Gate then continues to where it meets Deansgate (A56). Other major streets crossed are High Street, Corporation Street, Cross Street and Fountain Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest Hill Chase</span> Shopping center in Forest Hill, Melbourne, Australia

Forest Hill Chase is a major regional shopping centre located in the eastern suburb of Forest Hill in Melbourne, Australia. Owned and managed by Haben, the centre is among the oldest in Victoria, opening on 30 June 1964 as an outdoor strip shopping centre, before being developed over the years into its current three level indoor form. Currently, Forest Hill Chase contains 200 stores and over 3500 free car parking spaces. The centre has three supermarkets, two discount department stores and some smaller anchor stores. The architecture is distinguished by a roof of polycarbonate construction with a barrel vault design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchanan Street subway station</span> Glasgow subway station

Buchanan Street subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway in Scotland. It serves the major shopping thoroughfare of Buchanan Street, and is one of two stations on the Subway that directly serve the city centre. Close to Buchanan Bus Station and providing interchange with Glasgow Queen Street railway station via a travelator, it is the busiest station on the Subway, with 2.54 million passengers in the 12 months ending 31 March 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mall Luton</span> Shopping mall in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

The Mall Luton is in the centre of Luton, in Bedfordshire, England. It was formerly an Arndale Centre, until it was purchased by Capital & Regional in January 2006. It was temporarily called The Mall Arndale, but is now referred to as The Mall Luton, although local people still refer to it as "The Arndale". It is to be renamed Luton Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Enoch Square</span>

St. Enoch Square is a public square in Glasgow, Scotland, situated south of the junction of Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, two of the city's busiest shopping streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Kilbride Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK

EK, East Kilbride is located in the town centre of East Kilbride and is Scotland's biggest undercover shopping centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karingal Hub Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Victoria, Australia

Karingal Hub Shopping Centre as well as its "Town Square" is the second largest shopping complex located at 330 Cranbourne Rd, Frankston, Victoria, Australia, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Melbourne CBD. The complex has a combined gross leasable area of 53,000 m2 (570,000 sq ft), 2,750 parking spaces and 200+ stores. It was acquired by ISPT, or the Industry Superannuation Property Trust in July, 2013 and has been owned by other corporations in the past such as Vicinity Centres, which owns its competitor Bayside. It has the only Big W in and around the peninsula and has a multitude of popular shops, and includes a renovated and tall playground within its Town Square as well as an additional smaller playground in the south of the building, close to the retailer Big W.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Shopping Centre, Bexleyheath</span> Shopping mall in Greater London, England

Broadway Shopping Centre is the principal covered shopping centre in the town centre of Bexleyheath and is the largest single covered shopping facility in the London Borough of Bexley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exchange Ilford</span> Shopping mall in Ilford, England

The Exchange Ilford is the main retail shopping mall of Ilford, east London. It was owned by The Mall Fund for a period of time but has been sold and changed its name to Exchange Ilford in late 2010 or early 2011. The Exchange is located on Ilford High Road in the town centre and opened on 6 September 1991.

Glasgow City Centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. Is bounded by Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to the east, The River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to its west and north. Glasgow City Centre is composed of the areas of Garnethill, Blythswood Hill and Merchant City as well as parts of Cowcaddens, Townhead, Anderston and Calton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderston Centre</span> Skyscraper in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

The Anderston Centre is a mixed-use commercial and residential complex, and former bus station located in the Anderston area of Glasgow, Scotland. Completed in 1972 and designed by Richard Seifert, it is one of the earliest examples of the "megastructure" style of urban renewal scheme fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s - the other notable example in Scotland being the infamous Cumbernauld Town Centre development. The complex is a notable landmark on the western edge of Glasgow city centre, and is highly visible from the adjacent Kingston Bridge.

The Mander Centre is a major shopping centre in Wolverhampton City Centre, in Wolverhampton, England, developed by Manders Holdings Plc, the paint, inks and property conglomerate, between 1968 and 1974. The site occupies four and a half acres comprising the old Georgian works and offices of the Mander family firm, founded in 1773, as well as the site of the former Queens Arcade, which had stood on the site since 1902.

References

  1. ↑ "Projects". Sir Robert McAlpine. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "About - St Enoch - Shopping Centre - Glasgow City Centre". St Enoch. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Memories of the St Enoch Centre as the 'The Glasgow Greenhouse' turns 30". Glasgow Live. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "The Thatcher Interview - BBC1 Scotland - 9 March 1990 "We in Scotland"". YouTube.
  5. ↑ Chris Hogg; Lynn Patrick (15 September 2014). The Glasgow, Cowal & Bute Route Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. pp. 29–. ISBN   978-1-4456-2114-2.
  6. ↑ Chris Hogg; Lynn Patrick (15 October 2015). Scottish Railway Icons: Central Belt to the Borders. Amberley Publishing Limited. pp. 88–. ISBN   978-1-4456-2115-9.
  7. ↑ "£100 Million Boost For Glasgow Retail As St. Enoch Centre Transformation Begins". stenoch.com. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  8. ↑ "St Enoch makes a grand entrance". eveningtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  9. ↑ "Hamleys Contact Us".
  10. ↑ Debenhams Glasgow is joining in on the action and undergoing an extensive make-over
  11. ↑ "Glasgow leisure consent granted", Shopping Centre, 2016-12-21
  12. ↑ "Work begins on £40m leisure development and cinema at St Enoch Centre". glasgowlive. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

55°51′24″N4°15′11″W / 55.85678°N 4.25301°W / 55.85678; -4.25301

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.